Heartbeat simulator and sleep aid incorporating the same

ABSTRACT

Provided is a sleep aid including a sleep positioner having a selected configuration which is sized and adapted to accommodate an infant when placed in a reposed position on a top surface thereof. The positioner includes an internal resilient padding and an outer casing substantially enclosing the padding. A heartbeat simulator is at least partially embedded within the sleep positioner and is operative upon actuation to vibrate in a manner which simulates a mother&#39;s heartbeat.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. nonprovisionalapplication Ser. No. 12/013,382 filed on Jan. 11, 2008, which claims thebenefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/897,740 filed onJan. 24, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference inits entirety.

BACKGROUND

One of the strongest human instincts involves the care and nurturing ofoffspring. Parents provide for their children in a wide variety of ways.At a basic level, however, parents provide their children with thenecessities of food, clothing, and shelter. While the needs of childrenlast from birth through later years, the care and nurturing of newbornsand young infants present special issues. As is well known, infants aresomewhat helpless in interacting with their environment and rely uponothers to assist and care for them.

One of the aspects of infant care is the provision of sleepingaccommodations for the infant. A wide variety of beds, cradles and cribsare used as a resting place for the infant. Various cushions, pads andblankets may be employed to increase the comfort of the infant duringthe sleep activity. Moreover, numerous cushion devices, such as sleeppositioners are sometimes used to create a better sleeping environmentfor a young child.

Despite these various devices and comfort items, some infants exhibitdifficulty in entering the sleep state. It is known to provide audiblerelaxation aids for a child with these audible aids including singing tothe child, recorded music, mechanical sound devices and the like. Inparticular, it is thought that simulating the sound of the human hearthelps to relax an infant or young child. For instance, placing a tickingclock next to an infant was thought to relax the infant and assist theinfants slumber. This was because the ticking of the clock at one secondintervals is close to the rate of the human heart thereby providing arudimentary simulation of the heartbeat. This ticking concept hasevolved into more elaborate devices which simulate the human heart.

One such device, for example, is described in International ApplicationPCT/AU90100100 International Publication No. W091/13647 entitled SleepInducing Device. Another such device is described in U.S. Pat. No.5,063,912 to Hughes issued Nov. 12, 1991. While these devices are usedto generate an audible tone, it is also known to provide sensory inputto an infant in the form of a heartbeat vibration in order to calm theinfant. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,923 issued Jan.7, 1969 to Cowan. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,282 issued Nov. 30, 1976 toMoulet an astatic multivibrator is provided for producing audible soundssimulating the human heartbeat. U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,022 issued Nov. 7,1978 to Gross also provides an audible tone as a sleep aid. In U.S. Pat.No. 6,004,259 issued Dec. 21, 1999 to Sedaros, a device is shown whereina mother may record her own heartbeat so that this heartbeat may beplayed back for an infant as a sleep inducement or sleep relaxation aid.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,811 issued Apr. 27, 1993 to Fornarelli a babyblanket with a heartbeat simulator of the vibratory type is disclosed.Here, the heartbeat simulator is placed inside of a foam form, and thefoam form may be placed inside of a blanket upon which an infant mayrest. The heartbeat simulator is pressure activated so that the weightof the infant on the simulator activates the simulator for a selectedduration.

Accordingly, despite the advantages of the preexisting devices, thereremains a need for improved heartbeat simulators which can be used inconjunction with infant blankets and various other forms of sleeppositioners. There is a need for such a heartbeat simulator that is moreconvenient to use.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments are provided for a sleep aid which incorporates aheartbeat simulator for providing a soothing sleeping environment for aninfant. The sleep aid, which may be in the form of a sleep positioner orthe like, incorporates a cushion of a selected size and configuration toaccommodate the infant when placed thereon. In preferred embodiments,the cushion includes a resilient foam padding and an outer casing whichsubstantially surrounds the padding. A heartbeat simulator is at leastpartially embedded, or otherwise supported by, the positioner's cushionand is operative upon actuation to vibrate in a manner which simulates amother's heartbeat.

These and other objects of the present invention will become morereadily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the followingdetailed description of the exemplary embodiments when taken togetherwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sleep aid incorporating a heartbeatsimulator according to a first exemplary embodiment and showing aninfant sleeping thereon;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the construction ofone of the positioning members for the sleep positioner of FIG. 1, withits outer casing removed;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the positioning member of FIG. 2 in afully assembled state;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second exemplary embodiment of a sleepaid incorporating a heartbeat simulator, and showing an infant steepingthereon;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a third exemplary embodiment of a sleepaid incorporating a heartbeat simulator;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a fourth exemplary embodiment of a sleepaid incorporating a heartbeat simulator, with the sleep aid in the formof a swaddling blanket;

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the heartbeat simulator for use inthe various representative sleep aid embodiments;

FIG. 8 is a schematic circuit diagram for the heartbeat simulator;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the heartbeat simulator'selectromagnetic component; and

FIGS. 10( a)-10(c) collectively, comprise high level flow diagrams ofthe various operating modes for the heartbeat simulator which areaccomplished by the disclosed circuitry of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

With initial reference to FIG. 1, a first exemplary embodiment of asleep aid 10 is introduced. Sleep aid 10 is substantially in the form ofa sleep positioner, such as that described in FIGS. 1-8 of U.S. Pat. No.6,877,176 B2, issued Apr. 12, 2005 to Houghteling, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference in its entirety. Accordingly, sleepaid 10 is adapted to be suitably configured to support an infant betweenfirst and second positioning members or bumpers 14 and 16, respectively.These bumpers 14 and 16 are preferably movably and detachably positionedalong the lower portion of the pad's top surface to create a suitablewidth therebetween within which infant 12 is positioned. In this regard,the sleep positioner 10 can be constructed substantially the same asthose referred to in the various embodiments disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,877,176 B2.

However, as may also be seen in FIG. 1, one of the positioning members,such as first bumper 14, has a unique construction in that itincorporates a partially embedded heartbeat simulator 20, as perhapsbest illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Referring to FIG. 2, bumper 14, whichis a wedge-shaped member having a triangular cross-section, includes acavity 26 formed in its base which is sized and adapted to accommodate amain body portion 24 of heartbeat simulator 20. As can be appreciatedwith reference to FIGS. 2 and 7, main body portion 24 is generallyrectangular in shape and provides a housing to accommodate some of thesimulator's circuitry components. To this end, housing 24 has areceptacle portion 28 within which the various components are stored anda coverplate 30 secured thereto via suitable screws, generally 32, orthe like. Protruding from housing 24 so that it is accessible to acaregiver is the actuator portion 22 of the heartbeat simulator 20. Aswill be discussed in greater detail below, actuator portion 22 containsfirst and second actuator buttons 34 and 36, respectively, as well asindicator lights 37 and 38 and a microphonic element 40. Actuator 20 isjoined in electrical communication to the remaining circuitry componentscontained within housing 24 via an elongate insulative sleeve 42, aswould be well-known to those skilled in the art.

With reference, then, to FIG. 3, it may be seen that once the housingportion of the heartbeat simulator 20 is inserted into the cavity, thecasing for first bumper pad 14 may be inserted over the bumper'sresilient padding so that the actuator 22 protrudes from the bumper tobe accessible by a caregiver. Casing 15 for positioning member 14 isquite similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,176 B2, and itcan be appreciated from FIG. 3 that a flap 19 can be included on thecasing to releasably engage a band of hook material 17 to encase thestored simulator.

Before describing the particular construction for the heartbeatsimulator itself, reference will now be made to FIGS. 4-6 whichillustrate alternative constructions for sleep aids which couldincorporate the heartbeat simulator. Thus, with initial reference toFIG. 4, a sleep aid, again in the form of a sleep positioner, is shown.Sleep aid 50 incorporates a contoured cushion 52 and the heartbeatsimulator 20 partially embedded therein. The construction for thecontoured cushion 52 is, preferably, similar to that described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,213,281 B2, issued May 8, 2007 to Hahn, the disclosure ofwhich is also incorporated by reference in its entirety. Such a cushionconstruction can be suitably modified, however, by forming a base cavityor cutout, similar to that described above. The base cavity insertablyand removably accommodates the housing portion 24 of heartbeat simulator20 so that the actuator portion protrudes therefrom to be accessible bya caregiver. The artisan will readily appreciate that a variety of otherconstructions could be employed to embed or otherwise support thesimulator, such as an internal pocket accessible via a slit formed inthe encased padding.

Further, with reference to the embodiment of FIG. 5, the sleeppositioner can assume a configuration substantially like that disclosedin my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 12/013,382, filed Jan. 11,2008, which is also incorporated by reference in its entirety. In theembodiment of FIG. 5, however, the sleep positioner 60 has a zipperconstruction 62 along one of its side margins which can be unzipped toprovide access to a slot or cavity within the encased resilient foampadding that is sized and adapted to accommodate the heartbeatsimulator's housing portion (not shown). Here again, the actuator 22protrudes to be accessible.

Finally, a still further embodiment for a sleep aid is shown in FIG. 6.Here, sleep aid 70 is in the form of a swaddling blanket 72 for infant12 wherein the heartbeat simulator is wrapped and placed proximate tothe baby's torso.

Refer now to the remaining figures which describe the operationalcharacteristics of the heartbeat simulator 20 referred to above. Whenembedded within a sleep aid, upon activation, the heartbeat simulator isoperative to simulate the sound and/or feel of a mother's heartbeat.Accordingly, as the above-described embodiments have illustrated, it ispreferred to position the heartbeat simulator in an area proximate tothe baby's torso region. With reference to FIG. 9, circuit diagram 100for the heartbeat simulator would be well understood to those ordinarilyskilled in the art of electronics. The values for the various componentsof the circuitry are tabulated below in Table 1.

TABLE 1 RESISTORS (Ω) R1 10R R2 100K R3 4R7 R4 100K R5 100K R6 4R7 R7331R R8 331R R9 331R R10 2.2K R11 360K R12 10K R13 5M1 R14 33K R15 330KR16 100K R17 101 R18 2.2K R*  0 CAPACITORS (μf) C1 47/10 V C2    0.1 C3100/16 V C4 — C5 104 C6 104 C7 104 C8    0.1 TRANSISTORS Q1 S8550 Q2S8550 Q3 S8550 Q4 C945 Q5 A733 DIODES D1 1N4148 LDM LED LDS LED LOGIC U1AM4ED0097 MISC AM Switch AS Switch POWER 4.5 V MIC1 ~50 dB J1Electromagnet

Some of the principal components for the electronic circuitry 100 arebriefly discussed to illustrate how they relate to the construction ofthe simulator 20 discussed above, for example with reference to FIGS. 2and 7. There are two push buttons 34 and 36 which activate the device toplace it in one of three modes as will be described below in FIGS. 10(a)-(c). Once depressed, these buttons activate LED's. More particularly,when the larger heart-shaped button 38 is depressed, it results in theillumination of LED 38. Similarly, when the smaller heart-shaped button36 is depressed, it results in the illumination of LED 37. Depending onthe mode of operation which is selected, as determined by the sequenceof buttons pushed, an electromagnet 102 will be activated to pulse at aselected frequency simulating that of a typical heartbeat. The structureof this electromagnet 102 is more particularly shown in FIG. 9 where itmay be seen that electromagnet includes a coil 104 and an aluminum yoke106 having mounting fingers 107. A steel strike plate 108 is disposed ona lower portion of the yoke and a thin layer of bumper padding (notshown) may be interposed between the strike plate and the coil to mufflenoise as coil is energized at a selected pulse rate.

Referring again to FIG. 9, if the heartbeat simulator enters into alistening mode, a microphonic device 104, such as a condensermicrophone, is provided to detect any sounds of the baby crying. Themicrophone's signal is amplified by amplifier sub-circuit 109 whichserves to reactivate the pulsating vibration of electromagnet 102. Aprogrammable integrated circuit chip 103 is powered by a suitable powersupply, provided by three 1.5-volt batteries housed within the housing'sbattery compartment 25 (FIG. 8). Chip 104 is preferably a programmablemicrocontroller which provides the logic for the various modes ofoperation described in FIGS. 10( a)-10(c). To this end, chip 104 may bepart no. AM4ED0097 available from Shenzhen Zesen Science & TechnologyCo., Ltd. With initial reference to FIG. 10( a), a first mode ofoperation 110 is described. First mode 110 begins at 112 upon activationof small button 36 which causes the heartbeat simulator to begin beatingat 114. In FIG. 8, this corresponds to pnp transistor subcircuit 105driving electromagnet 102. The device operates at 100% power for tenminutes and then begins to fade until the unit shuts off after twelveminutes. During the tenth minute, the device operates at 75% power, 50%power during the eleventh minute, and then shuts off. Accordingly, itcan be appreciated that once the device begins to beat at 114, a timeris started, and when a determination is made at 116 as to whether thetime interval (preferably twelve minutes) has elapsed or the smallbutton is activated again, the device will turn off at 118.

In the second mode 120 diagrammed in FIG. 10( b), activation of thelarge button at 124 causes the device to enter into a listening state126. When in the listening state, if the large button is again activatedat 128, the device turns off 130. Otherwise, the device sits idle todetermine at 132 if noise has been detected, namely the baby crying. Ifa cry is detected, the device then beats at 134 for the selected timeinterval until that interval has elapsed at 136. Once the interval haselapsed, the device reenters the listening state 126 and the process isrepeated.

Finally, a third mode of operation is diagrammed in FIG. 10( c). Thirdmode 140 begins upon activation of the small button at 142 followed byactivation of the large button at 144. Following this button sequence,the device begins to beat at 146 until the internal timer discussedabove has elapsed at 148. At this point, the device enters the listeningstate 150. Once in the listening state, if the large button is againactivated at 152, the device is turned off at 154. Otherwise, the devicewaits for noise detection at 156. Once noise is detected, the deviceagain starts to beat at 146.

Accordingly, the present invention has been described with some degreeof particularity directed to the exemplary embodiments thereof. Itshould be appreciated, though, that the present invention is defined bythe following claims construed in light of the prior art so thatmodifications or changes may be made to the exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention without departing from the inventive conceptscontained herein.

1. A sleep aid, comprising: a. A sleep positioner having a selectedconfiguration which is sized and adapted to accommodate an infant whenplaced in a reposed position on a top surface thereof, said positionerincluding an internal resilient padding and an outer casingsubstantially enclosing said padding; and b. A heartbeat simulator atleast partially embedded within said sleep positioner, said heartbeatsimulator operative upon actuation to vibrate in a manner whichsimulates a mother's heartbeat.